One Night in Pan Pacific Orchard @ 10 Claymore Road

Had been working hard and having no day off for a while now, decided on a whim to take a short staycation. Had wanted to try Pan Pacific Orchard since it opened its door in Jun 2023, and judging from its early reviews, decided that it is prudent to wait a bit. The beautiful photos from the hotel website had me intrigued of its view.

Booked the Premier King Discovery National Day Package for a Saturday stay. Checked-in early and the lobby was not busy. Got my room keycards after waiting for a short while and proceeded to Level 9. The experience at the front desk was perfunctory at best and while the end outcome of getting the room key was achieved, it didn't give off a warm welcome to the guest.

room

balcony, yay!

let's enjoy balcony view

hello Orchard

From the looks of it, the room was upgraded to Deluxe Balcony King. Room size between the two are the same, with the balcony being the differentiator. And I was happy with the balcony! But do note that one can see our neighbour when we are at the balcony. Also be careful when you're out at the balcony as the ledge only comes up to my waist level and I am not that tall. The balcony ottoman was rather nice to lounge at.

night view

morning view

Let's explore the other parts of the room.

bathrobes

bedroom slippers in here

Nespresso machine, filtered water tap and mini-bar

Take note that everything in the mini-bar is chargeable but unfortunately, the QR code scan on the TV for the mini-bar didn't reveal the prices of the items. It was just an empty page. Teething problem?

Singapore Orchard Gin @$68++

cups, plates and glasses

looking for Nespresso pods

looks like all the same flavour except one

super simple sleek looking Samsung remote

comfy bed

bathroom

soap and lotion

shower

shower gel, conditioner and shampoo

toilet

The shower strength was indeed not that strong as per other reviewers' comments but it was still alright. It did take about 30 seconds or so, for the water to get hot from its initial state, and there was once when the water temperature fluctuated on its own from hot to lukewarm. Other than that, I did like the flooring of the shower room as it is the non-slip type.

Made a call to One-Service to enquire about the Discovery member in-room amenities. It was answered within 3 minutes. Staff checked for a bit and informed that it was a plate of pralines and asked if I would like to have that. Hmm, yes? Thought it was a rather odd question.

Received another call from the same staff about half hour later to inform that they could only send the pralines later in the evening. No problem, I said. Went out for lunch with a friend and came back for coffee. And just nice, the doorbell rang and voila, the pralines had arrived with a welcome note from General Manager. Good timing!

in-room Welcome Amenity

coffee in a pretty cup

The chocolates were actually very good. The green one was minty and the yellow one had hints of lemon. Sweetness level, just nice. Thank you GHA Discovery and Pan Pacific Orchard for the lovely welcome amenity.

As it was a National Day Package, I was able to redeem a complimentary Singapore Sling from Pacific Breeze.

Pacific Breeze, next to hotel lobby

Singapore Sling at Pacific Breeze

served with cherry and pineapple garnish

There was only one staff manning the bar at Pacific Breeze, so had to wait for a while for the drinks to be made. It's been a long while since I had a Singapore Sling (I think the last one was during an SQ flight to somewhere before Covid!) and wow, the version here is strong. Keke. The thing about Singapore Sling is, sometimes it could taste a tad too syrupy. The concoction here was rather likeable and refreshing.

sundown at Pacific Breeze

Hmm, I wonder if Pacific Breeze serves any finger food, snacks or any other drinks. And if Pacific Breeze is not ready for that, then why not let the guest be having the drink in Mosella/Florette instead.

Level 11

sunset from Level 11

Pan Pacific Orchard

Address: 10 Claymore Road 229540 Singapore

Website: https://www.panpacific.com/en/hotels-and-resorts/pp-orchard-sg.html

Contact: +65 6991 6888

Pohang Seafood and Butchery @ Aperia Mall

Heard about this place from Hence and Tracy, and finally, we managed to get together for a dinner at Aperia Mall to try some Korean sashimi. Thank you Tiara for making the reservations!

shopfront

I think we're having one of these for dinner

looks good

Was given the non-BBQ table, which was ok since we were there to try out the sashimi and other cooked food. Dinner was with Ivan, Kris, Alvin, Tiara, CK, Tracy and Hence. For the eight of us, the group decided on the (L) Flat Fish and Tuna Set @$390++ which was indicated for 4 pax. Supposed to have live octopus included in this but it was out of stock, so the staff said it will be replaced with something else.

table setting

banchans

juk (porridge)

The side dishes were quickly brought out as soon as we placed our order. We started with a small bowl of juk. It was served mildly warm. So best to eat soonest. The porridge had some good flavours albeit mild, and it was rather soothing.

There was one abalone to be shared, so we had a bite each. Hmm, abalone sashimi was rather crunchy.

fresh abalone

Staff informed that the sliced boiled octopus was the replacement for the 'live' ones. Hmm, same same but different. Hehe.

sliced octopus 문어

The porridge was quickly devoured and we munched on banchans while awaiting for more food to arrive. My favourite was the kimchi. Nicely fermented and tangy. 

kimchi

Banchans are refillable, so just need to inform the staff and they will kindly refill it for you.

salmon sashimi

cheese corn

salad

We chatted and tried the various sides that came together with the set. There was one dish that caught my eye because of its unique look.

can you guess what this is?

It was like a bowl with coloured iced shavings piled ontop of it. Was thinking, if that would taste spicy or what sort of flavours... Ahh, it turned out to be cold noodles with shredded vegetables in it. The frozen feeling of this dish somehow reminded me of the meal I had with Wendy ages ago in Insadong.

mixed it all up and enjoy the icy sensation

Other things that we ate included pancake. It wasn't a big slice but I wasn't a fan of it. The insides of the pancake was rather mushy and it was a tad more sour than expected.

pancake profile view

We had small fried fishies too. Not too sure what type of fish these were. Soft flesh and need to be careful with its bones.

fried small fish

Let's get to the main course, shall we. The flatfish sashimi was an all white dish (mostly). The chewiness of the meat depended on which part it was sliced from. First piece that I had was rather chewy but the subsequent ones (the leaner ones) were rather enjoyable. 

Flat fish sashimi 광어

I had mine with the sesame dip. Could also wrap the fish up in lettuce or seaweed for more variety in texture.

let's wrap it up

close up view

There was a small bowl of peppery mussels soup too but I forgot to take photo of it.

assorted tempura of prawns and pumpkin

Tuna sashimi was looking so incredibly enticing! I was in awe with it. It tasted as good as it looked! Fatty mouthfeel, and each bite was to be savoured slowly.

Tuna Sashimi 

Towards the end of the meal, staff would bring out the soup made with the fish bones and one could opt to top-up some money to add ramen sari (plain noodles) to the soup.

pot of soup

sliding the noodles in

there it goes

There's rice too served in a small hot stone pot. Carbs to end the meal!

colourful bibimbap

mix well and enjoy!

Happy to celebrate Ivan's birthday with the foodie gang! May you enjoy more success, more travels and more good food!

Pohang Seafood and Butchery 

Address: 12 Kallang Avenue, #02-10, Aperia Mall, Singapore 339511

Website: https://www.facebook.com/Pohang.Seafood.Butchery/

Contact: 9010 4781

Business Hours: 

Daily 11:45 am–3 pm, 5:30–10:20 pm

[Tasting] Green & Wholesome Freeze-Dried Snack - Tasty and Natural

When I was a kid (yeah, I'm at that age now, in case you were wondering...) , there was that time when it was a trendy to try 'astronaut food'. I must have been like a pre-teen or teen at that time. Many years later, I guessed the right term to use, should be 'freeze dried' food. Memory indicated that the cube was light, airy and tasted of something. It was too long ok, so can't remember much. But memories came flooding back, once I had a taste of Green & Wholesome Freeze-Dried Snack.

Was at a gathering when we got to try all the 8 varieties available at the moment; Mangosteen Yogurt, Mango Yogurt, Mango with Coconut Milk [Vegan] , Mangosteen with Coconut Milk [Vegan], CocoSnow [Vegan], Dark Chocolate with Coconut Milk [Vegan], Durian with Coconut Milk [Vegan], and Monthong Durian [Vegan].

The crowd favourite amongst us? Dark Chocolate with Coconut Milk was the one many agreed on. 

Dark Chocolate with Coconut Milk

Eating freeze-dried chocolate somehow seemed to be messing up my perception a bit. It was kind of a novelty to be holding an almost weightless, square of chocolate in your hand, and then it just melts in your mouth.

 Mango with Coconut Milk

Mangosteen with Coconut Milk 

CocoSnow 

Mango Yogurt

more info

Suggest to start with the ones without yogurt first. This allows the taste buds to solely focus on the fruity flavours. However, I kinda liked the yogurt versions more with a slight switch up in the flavours and more creamy.

As these are still sweet snacks, so I did a quick check of the nutrition info at the back of the package and to remind myself that daily intake of sugar should be no more than 24 grams. Moderation is key, or share the goodies with others so that you have less chances of finishing everything on your own!

Mangosteen Yogurt

freeze dried goodies

have a taste

It's easy to keep on popping those squares into the mouth and it just disappears! But if there are some left, no worries as its bag is resealable.

Were you wondering if the freeze-dried Monthong Durian would be void of any smell? Haha, that was my personal curiosity. The answer would be no, it still has that distinctive smell of the fruit albeit toned down by quite a bit when you're not eating it. Once it goes into your mouth, there's no mistake that this is durian.

Having sampled these freeze-dried snacks, I think it makes a good gift for family/friends as it can be enjoyed by almost anyone, any time. These are made of real fruits, with no added sugar, vegan, gluten free, wheat free, and nut free. 

Price ranges from $10.95 to $12.25 and below are some of the places where you could get your hands on one of these Green & Wholesome Freeze-Dried Snacks:

• Foreveryoung.com.sg
• Shopee
• Qoo10
• Fairprice 

Thank you Hence and Tracy for introducing these goodies!

For more information on GREEN & WHOLESOME Freeze-Dried Snacks range, please visit https://www.foreveryoung.com.sg/productcategory/greenandwholesome/